Who plays, how much, and why?

Williams, D., Yee, N., & Caplan, S. (2008). Who plays, how much, and why? Debunking the stereotypical gamer profile. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13, 993-1018. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2008.00428.x/full

The paper is about a study designed to find the demographics of MMOs players. The research focuses on age, gender, education, other media use, religion, income, and race and compares these with general population.

Bartle's player taxonomy: Achievers, Socializers, Explorers (enjoy discovering the geographical boundaries of the world, analyzing rules), and Killers

Yee's set of motivation items for play is added to Bartle's:

Achievement, Relationship, Manipulation, Immersion, Escapism

-three second order factor structures:

1-Achievement: 

• advancement, 
• analyzing game mechanics,
• competition

2-Social: 

• chatting and casual interactions
• developing supportive relationships
• teamwork

3-Immersion:

• geographical exploration
• role-playing
• avatar customization
• escapism

Sherry's topology of motivations for video gamers : has Arousal as addition to above motivations

Research questions:

-What is the distributions of age, gender, race and class among MMO players?

-How do the demographics of MMO players compare to general population?

-Who plays how much?

-What are the media use pattern of MMO players?

-How does the physical health of MMO players?

-How does the mental health of MMO players?

-What are the motivations of MMO players?

Method:

Physical health measured by three indicators: BMI, exercise habits and physical impairment

Mental health measured by asking whether they are diagnosed by depression, substance addiction, or anxiety 

Results:

age: mid 30s, counter to stereotypes (not teens)

gender: 80% male, female players play more hours per week 

race: White, Native Americans

religion: different levels of spirituality but mostly players have no religion

media use: watching TV vs playing online, players watch less TV then general population

health: players are physically healthier but mentally less healthier

motivation: players were motivated to play for achievement, immersion and social reasons- achievement was stronger

-adult, male, in his 30s, white Native American, middle class

why highly achievement oriented? 

-person may lack that achievement in real life

-to achieve high self-esteem

why socially oriented?

-when threatened, something upset in real life

Next steps for researchers is:

- to develop and extend theories that fit these findings 

- to question why stereotypes about gamers formed